


Reunions

by LetoaSai



Series: Secrets [12]
Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Explanations, Family Reunions, M/M, Original Character(s), Riku Angst, Self-Doubt, Sequel, Sorry i opened a door to darkness that destroyed the world, They're technically aliens, Worry, supportive Sora
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-28
Updated: 2020-09-28
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:21:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26694418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LetoaSai/pseuds/LetoaSai
Summary: It had been a long time since Riku and Sora had actually returned home. Not just to the play island, but to the mainland of Destiny Island. Riku really had a lot to explain to his mother.
Relationships: Riku/Sora (Kingdom Hearts)
Series: Secrets [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1593604
Comments: 26
Kudos: 94





	Reunions

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. 
> 
> Just wanted to say thank you to all the people checking up on me. I appreciate it. Hopefully i can get back to my writing schedule soon.

Riku was reevaluating his own mental health. Clearly something was wrong with him. 

He’d opened a door to darkness, driven by nothing by spite and jealousy. He’d wandered a realm made of darkness. Hell, he’d been locked in a world of darkness for a short time too. 

He’d been to dozens of different worlds, fought with his clone and taken the physical form of another for longer than he cared to think about. He’d battled monsters made of darkness and purposely dove into a world of dreams, again, leaving him altered for a time. 

He was a keyblade master and a dream eater. He’d faced his fears. He’d faced his doubts. He’d asked Sora for forgiveness and gotten it because… well it was Sora. 

All things considered, he thought he’d managed to survive quite a bit by seventeen. Somehow, none of that was as frightening as walking down a little path on Destiny Island that would take him and Sora home. 

They’d been back a few times, but never really left the play island. They stayed hidden there like it was their own perfect paradise. The very place he’d once tried to escape. 

Despite all that, the thought of facing his own mother left his legs feeling like jelly. 

“You wanted this, you know?” Sora chuckled, their arms linked together. “It was your idea.” 

“I know.” Riku muttered, his nerves showing in his tone. “It sounded better in my head than putting it into practice.” 

Sora hummed, being back on the main island was almost jarring. “You’re mom loves you though, it’ll be okay.” 

“Yeah, i know that in theory too but it’s a bit different for you. My mom’s not a super strong mercenary.” 

“Okay.” Sora snorted immediately. “You got me there.” Cloud and Squall weren’t exactly normal parents. “But your mom was around enough to know something was up with papa. She probably thought he was an alien or something.”

A smile twitched at Riku’s lips. “I mean, isn’t he? He’s from another world.” 

Sora blinked, staring at his feet for a moment as they walked. “I do not have the brain power to take that well enough without overthinking it.” He paused and gasped theatrically. “That means i’m an alien, but you’re also an alien to me! I’m in love with an alien!” 

Riku laughed and jerked Sora closer by his hand to press a too wet kiss to his cheek. 

“Noo! You got me!” Sora grinned. “Alien cooties.” 

“I’ll show you alien cooties later.” Riku rolled his eyes. “Focus for me, would you?” 

Sora sighed. “Fine, fine. Your mom think’s papa’s an alien. I know he tried but he didn’t exactly keep a low profile.” 

“True. Still, it’s really different having an opinion of a friend you met at an odd point in your life verses your son.” 

“Uh huh.” Sora rolled his eyes. “Riku, what are you worried about? Your mom loves you.” 

Riku sighed again, traces of frustration slipping in. “Sora, i destroyed Destiny Island. I’m the one that opened the door. I did that. I did that to my family and everyone else.”

“No, that was Ansem.” 

Riku pulled away, dropping Sora’s hand and dragging his fingers through his hair. “It was me, Sora.” 

Sora smacked the back of his hand against Riku’s arm. “No, it was Ansem whispering to you. Just like Maleficent was whispering to you. You’d have never done it if you were yourself. Besides, no one here will remember any of that.” 

“That doesn’t make it okay.” 

“No.” Sora shrugged. “Riku, you were one of the reasons the world was even restored. It’s not like i could have done it by myself. You made your mistakes. You payed for them. You’ve already repented and been forgiven. The only one upset with you _is_ you.” 

Riku huffed quietly, “Maybe. I just don’t want to forget how those whole misadventures started.” 

“And that’s fine.” Sora said. He had his own problems, he wasn’t going to fault Riku for having his insecurities. “But you don’t have to tell your mom all of that.” 

“She’ll know i’m leaving something out.” 

“Yeah, probably.” Sora agreed. “But she’ll likely assume it’s like papa’s situation. How he kept secrets. It would be familiar, wouldn't it?” 

Riku frowned, “Maybe. I dunno.” 

Sora shoved his shoulder against Riku’s as they walked and took his hand back. They were on the right street, passing by little cottages they looked so similar to their own. “Whatever you’re thinking is worse than what’s actually going to happen. Even papa thought so.” 

Their parents being friends had always worked to their advantage. “Yeah, but i don’t see him here.” 

The grin that split across Sora’s face was immediate. “Yeah, but that’s because then he’ll have to see Tara, it’s not because of your mom.” 

Tara’s ire at Cloud disappearing would only be soothed by the fact that Cloud had found his husband and oldest child. Tara would no doubt demand to meet both in the most grandmotherly way possible. 

“What? You’re not worried about that too?” 

Sora shrugged. “Why would i be worried about it? She’ll tell me she was the one worried and i’ll apologize and tell her things are great right now and that papa will be back soon to see her.” 

Riku actually rolled his eyes. “Which is the long way of saying, ‘i’m Sora and everyone adores me’.”

“Awe, shucks Riku.” Sora laughed. 

“Oh whatever, don’t play innocent.” Riku managed a smile. 

Sora blinked up at him, the look perfected over many years of trying to come off as sweet. “Play innocent?” 

“How can you be so good at keeping secrets but so awful at lying?” Riku laughed, their arms swinging together as they walked. 

Sora’s face slid into a pout. “Meh, more practice at one than the other i guess. What do you want to do exactly?” Sora asked. “I mean, i can come with you or i can just go home for a while. You can stay at your house for the night or you can come back to mine to sleep.” 

Riku had practically grown up between the two houses, as far as he was concerned they were both his. “I don’t know, Sora. I guess that will depend on mama.” 

Sora hummed his understanding. “What if your dad is home?” 

Riku snorted. “What are the odds of that? I’m not worried about him.” He’d stopped worrying about his father a long time ago. 

“I get it.” Sora squeezed his hand. “This will go fine. You can explain as much as you're comfortable with and no more. Blame me if you want, i don’t care.” 

Riku made a face. “I’m not much better at lying than you are.” He certainly couldn’t walk into his house blindfolded. 

“Guess not.”

“What are the odds they actually think we sailed off on a raft?” 

Sora tossed his head back and laughed. “I think the only reason they let us build a raft was because they knew it was a stupid idea that wouldn’t work.” 

Riku’s lips upturned into another smile. “Yeah.” 

“Riku?” 

Both Riku and Sora paused mid-step and looked at the woman standing on the porch of a house they were strolling past. She gasped hard, her waist length, blond hair being the first thing Riku honed in on, the first thing he recognized. His sister was older. 

“Nadine…” 

There was a moment where they just stared at each other and Riku was already feeling those inner instincts telling him to run when she broke free from her stupor and ran off the porch and down the walkway. She practically jumped the little fence that surrounded her cottage. 

“Riku!” 

They were the same height now, but that didn’t stop her from jumping into his arms, leaving her little brother to support her as her arms went around his neck and her legs around his waist. 

“Woah, Nadine…” Riku was startled, holding her while Sora chuckled softly beside them. Nadine’s hug was bone crushing and he could hear her crying. He couldn’t remember ever seeing her cry. She’d always been his unflappable big sister. Bossy and so smart. 

“Nadine.” He muttered, guilt filling him. “Deeny, don’t cry.” 

She just swatted at his back to shut up as she held on for dear life. Riku couldn’t do anything but stand there and hold her until she was done. He’d expected a million different kinds of homecomings, but never this one.

He hadn’t expected to see any of his siblings until he got home but that thought had proven to be a stupid one. If his quick math was right, Nadine and her twin sister Akoni would both be around twenty-three now. It made sense that they didn’t live at home anymore. 

“Where have you been!?” The words might have been more accusing had she had not still been crying. She finally unlocked her legs to be set on the ground but didn’t let go on him. She reached out blindly, grabbing Sora by the collar and dragging him closer. “Sora! You two idiots!” She squashed him closer, hugging them both at once. 

“Awe Nadine.” Sora said softly, almost wondering how he’d been dragged into this too but he and Riku had been inseparable as kids and he’d grown up alongside Riku’s siblings. “It’s okay.”

Riku glanced up when a man came out onto the porch. He had vague memories of him being the guy his sister was dating but he hadn’t cared all that much at the time.

“Nadine?” he called, worry laced in his tone. 

She pulled back to look at him. “Liam! Riku’s home!” She clung to his arm and Riku didn’t quite know what to say. Now was definitely not the time to tell her he wasn’t staying, not yet anyway. Not for more than a few days. 

Liam looked surprised and mildly suspicious. Riku didn’t exactly blame him. 

“Have you been home yet?” Nadine asked suddenly, wiping at her eyes. 

Riku just shook his head. “Was headed there.”

“Good.” She said firmly, lips pressed together tightly in thought for a moment before grabbing his wrist, “But come with me first for a moment.” 

“Hey.” Riku complained when she tugged on him and all but dragged him through the gate. 

“Pick your feet up, c’mon. Sora, you too!” She was still bossy. 

She led them inside of the house, walking straight past Liam. Riku vaguely recalled this house belonging to an older couple that ran a nearby bakery. They must have moved on or something. Nadine pulled him right into the living room towards the corner of the room where a bassinet sat. 

“I got married last year.” She said, voice a bit rough. “Daichi was born two months ago. You’re an uncle, Riku.” 

He stared down at the baby, a tidal wave of emotions hitting him. It hadn’t felt like he was away long enough for so many changes. 

Nadine had missed out on the silver hair gene but Daichi had it regardless. 

“Awe…” Sora cooed. The baby looked like Riku did in his baby pictures. That was a fact that likely didn't go unnoticed.

“Can i hold him?” Riku asked, voice just over a whisper. 

“Oh of course you can.” Nadine said, scooping up the peaceful baby to hand over to him. Riku took him with an old practiced ease he hadn’t had to use in years. He had seven siblings and two of them were younger than he was. He’d held a baby many times. 

Daichi blinked up owlishly and seemed to know it wasn’t his mother holding him but continued to be just as relaxed. Having a nephew was a big deal and he’d missed out on it so far. 

“Nadine.” Liam was back in the doorway. “Are you sure this is a good idea?” 

Riku and Nadine both looked at him, their expression mirror images. Sora had to cough to not burst out laughing. 

“What do you mean is this a good idea?” Nadine frowned. “Why shouldn’t it be?”

“What do you think i’m going to do to him?” Riku asked right after. “Drop him?” 

Liam scowled. “You did just disappear without a trace. Only to suddenly reappear in strange clothes as if nothing ever happened. Do you have any idea how worried your family was?” 

“I’m sure i have a pretty good idea.” Riku muttered. However, Liam was not the one he'd talk about that with.

“While we’re on the subject.” Nadine said, actually dismissing the worries for now. “You two are adorable in matching plaids.” 

Sora grinned. “We’re always adorable, Deeny.” 

She snorted at him. “No, but really, it's like the pair of you loving yellow when you were little. Did you guys coordinate or what?” 

It didn’t seem like a good idea to try and explain magic enhancing clothing so Sora took the simple route. “Yep.” 

Riku huffed out a laugh. “I guess most of our clothes look like this now. We do match.” Maybe the fairies did it on purpose. 

“Nadine,” Liam sighed. “Have you even asked him where he’s been?” 

She just rolled her eyes. “Showing him Daichi was more important. I’m sure we’ll get to the other important parts later.” 

“I wanted to talk to mama first.” Riku muttered, rocking the baby who started to flail a little. 

Nadine hummed. “Well, i guess i can’t disagree with that. We looked for you, you know?" She said soberly. "Both of you. For months. So i’m going to be too happy to see you both now to smack your heads together but i expect an explanation at some point.” 

Riku’s guilt was growing by the second and he was floundering for excuses or answers and didn’t have many to offer. 

“Well,” Sora took over. “We sorta got swept out in that storm.” True. “And we couldn’t find our way back home for a long time.” Also true. “And then papa got a hold of us.” Sorta true? 

Nadine perked up. “Oh thank goodness. Everyone was so worried when he never came back. Mama was terrified she’d have to tell him you boys were missing but then he was missing too. He’s alright? Is he here too?” 

“Not yet, but he’ll be by soon.” Sora smiled at her. 

Riku swallowed and kept his mouth shut. He could ignore Liam’s suspicion without a care but looking his sister in the eye and not spilling the full truth would only be harder if he started talking now. 

“I’m sure you’ll see him soon.” Sora added. 

She nodded, smiling as Daichi’s hand curled around one of Riku’s fingers. “Good. I always loved Cloud. Seeing him would be great.” 

“I’ll tell him.” Sora promised. 

Riku sighed shakily, knowing this was a preview of what was to come once he got home. The sooner he got it over with, the better. “We should go see mama now. She’s already going to be annoyed we saw you first but i didn’t know you lived here.” 

“Course not, how could you?” Nadine shrugged, taking her baby back and rocking him. “Only been here a year.” 

“Yeah…” 

Sora smiled. “It’s a nice house and you have a beautiful baby.” 

Nadine reached out to pinch his cheek just to be annoying. “I’ve miss you, kid.” 

Sora made a face but his smile ruined it. “I’ve missed you too. We both have.” He glanced at Riku’s face, his gaze still locked onto his nephew. “So we're gonna go see Hana and i dunno what after. I don’t think Hana will just let us walk out again, you know? Maybe we’ll do dinner or something?” 

“That sounds lovely.” Nadine grinned a little, eyes glinting. 

When Riku seemed to be a little stuck, Sora tugged on his arm. “C’mon. Your mom doesn’t even know she’s expecting us.” 

“Yeah.” Riku muttered, eyes finally shifting back to his sister. 

Nadine smiled a little, her eyes still rimmed red from crying. “Go on. I’ll see you both later.”

“Promise.” Sora mused, leading Riku out by his arm who spared Liam a glance. The man still wasn’t happy about all this and Riku respected it. He might have been wary but he was taking care of his family. Riku couldn’t ask him for more than that. 

It had only been a few minutes but being able to breathe outside again made all the difference. There was a lot of tension inside and there was only more to come. 

“You okay?” Sora asked, gripping his arm a little tighter. Riku was doing that thing again where he was closing off his emotions. 

“Yeah.” 

Sora grunted, not exactly believing that. “You are not the bad guy here. You’ve done more good than anything else.” 

Riku exhaled slowly. “You’re biased.” 

“I’m also right.” 

The walk wasn’t too far. There were streets going every which way filled with cottages but there were only a few down this way that sat right on the water. Sora had to wonder if the moogles were the ones to keep his house safe all these years. They’d have to find out. 

“That went well though.” Sora muttered, trying to get Riku to speak.

Riku nodded again and swallowed hard. “They looked for me.”

“You knew they would.” 

“I opened the door to darkness and they looked for me.” Angst. 

Sora wrapped his arms around Riku’s to walk closer to him. “Because they knew their Riku--the not possessed by Ansem Riku--was a sweet boy. They love you. You are allowed to be loved and the only one upset is you.” 

Riku nodded, his posture stiff. Reunions weren’t always easy but they’d get harder the longer they were apart. The only way they were going to get through this was to keep putting one foot in front of the other. 

“Just take in the sweet, sea air.” Sora coaxed. No matter how many places they went, that would always been what home smelled like. 

“Yeah.” Riku whispered, moving to hold Sora close to him in a deceivingly casual manner as they headed down the road. They’d once torn down this road with such speed to get home from school. They used to know every person in every cottage. Everything was nostalgic and foreign all at once. 

When they got towards the end of the road that led out to a strip of houses right on the beach, their attention split. 

Sora stared at his house with a perplexed fondness. He remembered every inch of the place. He couldn’t even count the number of memories he had there. It was his childhood home, but as he looked at it now, he realized how remarkable small it was. It was a cottage for two, and there were times where it was tight quarters even for them. 

He wasn’t sure he’d ever fully appreciated what Cloud had gone through for him. 

Riku’s expression was more reserved. His home was only a little bigger than Sora’s but it had housed so many children. Riku had four sisters and three brothers. He’d been the sixth born into a house of laughter and drama and the occasional problem. His mother had loved them all the same, with every sleep deprived, well-intentioned bone in her body. 

They hadn’t deserved to wake up one morning after a storm and find him gone without a trace.

The two of them slid past the front of the homes along the sides of their yards towards the beach. Never in their entire lives could they recall going through the front doors. It was always the back. It was their playground, their sanctuary. The emotions that crashed into both of them was so much more overwhelming than being back on the play island. The play island had been a buffer.

“Oh,” Riku muttered, glancing back into his own yard. The mess of toys wasn’t as bad as it was when they’d been younger but certain things were still thrown around. On the porch were two kids, one girl, one boy. They were bigger now, both changing so much in only two years.

His little sister Suki would be around thirteen now. His brother Kaleo, only eleven. Suki had the same, nearly white hair their mother had and Kaleo was blond like Nadine. Riku hardly recognized them. 

Suki was curled up on the porch hammock, a magazine on her lap that didn't really seem to have her attention. Kaleo was on the porch steps, a tool bag by his feet while it looked like he was putting new wheels on Riku’s old scooter. 

“Well…” Sora blinked up at him. “Do you want me to go first?” 

Riku grunted and moved forward, walking into the yard as if he wasn’t a stranger to it. Kaleo looked up first, recognition there in a second. His lips parted in surprise but surprise turned to quiet, simmering anger.

“Who are you?” 

Riku blinked in surprise but Sora’s laughter covered any hesitation he might have had. 

“Oh i know that look.” Sora grinned. “Total Riku trademark snark.” 

Suki’s head shot up, her eyes going comically wide. “You’re…” She looked back and forth between Riku and Sora, mouth trembling. 

“Hey Su,” Riku greeted softly. The greeting didn't feel like it was enough.

The young girl nearly fell off the hammock as she tried to get up, her magazine flying in another direction. She ran to the door, slamming it open. “Mama! Come outside right now!” 

Riku nearly winced. He could only imagine their poor mom having a heart attacking thinking Suki was being stabbed or something just as violent. What else would she think first after hearing such traces of panic? Suki turned from the door, jumping down the porch stairs beside Kaleo to run to the older teens. She clung to both of them at the same time, not knowing which of them she wanted to hug first.

“Hey there Suki.” Sora smiled, grabbing her to hug and spinning with her. “You’re so big!” 

“So are you!” She said, sounding like she was crying but her smile was huge. “I can’t believe you’re home!”

“Yeah,” Riku muttered, his smile warm. “We’re home.” He glanced at his brother, the boy looking less forgiving. 

Kaleo was frowning, still sitting on the steps. When they’d been little, he’d been a duckling, wanting to follow Riku everywhere. “Why come back at all?” 

“Kal!” Suki hissed, arms around Sora’s waist. “Shut up!” 

“No. It’s okay.” Riku said softly, understanding. Everyone reacted differently, everyone had their own coping mechanisms. He’d learned that. He moved down the path to crouch in front of his little brother. “You’re mad at me?” 

“Yeah...” Kaleo swallowed hard. 

Riku nodded. “You know that’s okay, right?” 

“I don’t need you to tell me that.” Kaleo snapped. 

“Right.” Riku agreed, his brother really was just like him. As far as the child was concerned, Riku had either left them or been taken. Neither was a comforting thought. Still, he didn't want his brother to stay angry and be like he had been at fifteen. “I’m sorry it took so long for me to find my way home.” 

There was a pause, the child considering the words carefully. He searched Riku's face like he was looking for a lie. Kaleo’s expression crumbled, arms moving to wrap around Riku’s neck. “You’re okay?” 

Riku’s heart broke. All this time, anything he could have said or asked, and his little brother was worried he was hurt. “Yeah, i’m okay. I’m okay.” He hugged his brother, rocking him back and forth. 

“Where have you guys been?” Suki asked, looking up at Sora. 

“That question has a very long answer.” Sora said. Again, truth. 

“What’s all the noise out here for?” Hana asked as she appeared in the doorway. With so many kids, she’d seen it all and there was very little left that would surprise her. However, she’d never had a missing child before. 

Hana stared, finding Riku almost immediately. Her eyes went over him several times as if not believing what she was seeing. 

“Mama, Riku and Sora are home!” Suki said, feeling the tension. 

Riku ruffled Kaleo’s hair and slowly pulled away from him, standing up straight to face her. “Hey mama…” 

Hana was looking at him like she was looking at a ghost. There could have been no less than a thousand thoughts running through her head. She stepped out onto the porch towards them, needing to stand on the bottom step to still be his height. 

With a speed that impressed both keybladers, Hana struck, her palm landing hard against Riku’s cheek. The smack damn near echoed and Sora visibly winced. The younger children started with huge eyes. 

Riku looked back at her, feeling the sting flare in his face. “I’m home, mama.” 

Much like Kaleo, Hana’s face crumpled. She hiccuped once, all of her emotion trying to come out at once as she cupped Riku’s face, her thumb soothing the mark she’d just caused. “Oh baby…” She managed second before the tears started. Her sobbing put Nadine’s to shame. She was a shaking mess, her arms locked around Riku while she cried against his shoulder. Never before in his life had Riku considered his mother small. He wasn’t just taller than her now, but physically bigger. All the training and fighting had him bulking up in many ways. Now here he was, able to cradle her. 

Riku held the back of her head, his other arm around her waist as he swayed with her, talking softly the whole time. 

“I’m sorry, i’m so sorry. I didn’t mean for it to happen like that. Mama, i’m sorry.” 

At a certain point, the flare of emotion became so much that Kaleo slid away from them to greet Sora. Seeing their mother so distraught had all of them feeling like they were walking on eggshells. 

“Where did you go?” Kaleo asked, less hostile with Sora. “You were just gone.” 

“There was a storm.” Sora began, “And Riku and i shouldn’t have been out but we were and we got swept away in it. We didn’t mean to leave without a word.” 

Kaleo nodded, finally moving closer to hug Sora. They'd been waiting for an explanation. Any explanation.

“It was scary.” Suki told him. “You guys were just gone and a weird thing happened too.” 

“Yeah?” 

She nodded. “Papa Cloud never came back either but we kept looking for you both anyway. Cept for a few months were...we were only looking for Riku. Like we forgot you were missing... too.” She started to cry. 

“Oh no!” Sora said immediately, not knowing how to explain that one. “That wasn’t your fault! Not at all. I’m sure you guys looked everywhere you could.” 

“We...we tried.” 

“Awe, Suki.” Sora hugged both kids close, smiling a little when he watched Riku pick his mother up and move to sit in the hammock with her. This was going to be a long day. “Tell you what, you’ll all be in for a surprise soon. Papa’s coming back soon too.” 

“Really!?” Kaleo was loud and delighted. 

“Uh huh.” Sora grinned, not going to ruin the day by telling any of them it would likely just be a visit. 

“We gotta tell everyone!” Suki wiped her eyes. “I’ll call Suoh and Akoni and Nadine!” 

Sora smiled at her. “Five money says Nadine has already done that. We passed her house on the way here. She was so surprised too.” 

“Did you see the baby?” Kaleo asked. 

“Sure did, but tell me things anyway. Tell me about everyone!” He all but collapsed on the porch with both children who laughed. Sora had always been the biggest kid. 

Riku laid in the hammock with his mother stroking his hair and gripping his hand and trying to come to terms with him being real and _there_. Being around Cloud had already taught him that there was no greater pain than losing a child but Riku had never considered himself lost. His mother's point of view had been very different. 

He had no words, not yet, so he just listened as Sora asked question after question and his younger siblings answered. 

Nadine was married and had her baby. Both were very pleased about being an aunt and uncle already. 

Nadine's twin Akoni was not married and not looking. She’d just become a real estate agent and was becoming even bossier than Nadine apparently. 

Riku’s third oldest sister Lanai was twenty-two now and had caused her own slight scandal several months before when she started dating a woman. The kids just thought it was neat and Riku couldn’t help but smirk. 

His oldest brother Jai, now twenty-one was doing well in the surfing circuit. He’d even come in second in his last competition and the way Suki bragged about the trophy, Riku would have thought she was the one to earn it. 

His last sibling was his brother Suoh, older than Riku but two years. He was in college and had been leading the search for Riku since day one. He was the first one they called and Riku winced, hearing his brother’s voice over the phone from across the porch. He was on his way. 

“You’re going again, aren’t you?” Hana said, her grip on his hand tightening. Maybe it was true that mothers always knew. “You have that look about you. That wanderlust you had every summer when you’d run after Sora to play for hours.” 

“Not immediately.” Riku mumbled. “And i will definitely come back much more often than before.” 

She inhaled slowly and let it out the same way. 

“You don’t have more questions?” Riku asked, his voice small. 

Hana sat up a little straight to look down at him. “Oh i have questions and you’re going to answer them.” She said seriously. “But right this second i’m too happy to have you home to care. We’ll talk about it later.” 

Riku nodded a little. “Okay.” 

Hana finally turned her attention away from Riku to all the noise coming from the other side of the porch. “Sora Sunshine Strifehart.” 

“Oh dang.” Sora muttered. “Full name.” 

Hana got up, hands on her hips. “Young man, where is my hug?”

Sora laughed, getting up from his seat on the steps to walk towards her, arms opened wide to pull her into a hug. “Sorry mama Hana. I was letting Riku go first.” 

She squeezed him tight and pressed a kiss to his hairline. “I’m so glad you’re both safe.” 

“And i’m sorry we worried you.” Sora muttered. “Papa’s sorry too. He’ll be by soon.” 

Hana grinned, pleased to hear that. She and Cloud had been such good friends from day one. “That man better have a good excuse.” 

Sora pulled away and matched her look. “He found my dad and brother.” 

“He…” Hana’s jaw dropped before a smile took over. She’d known how hard he looked every summer. “Wonderful! Oh, oh goodness i’m going to start crying again. I have to call Tara and tell her you’re here.” 

“Yeah, I’m sure everyone plans to descend on your home.” Sora mused. Suoh’s reaction had been enough to tell him that.

“Better that way.” Riku got up to join them. “Let’s see everyone at once. Maybe not have to explain things a dozen times.” 

Hana cut her eyes at him. “You’ll explain as many times as you have to.” 

“Yes, mama.” Riku muttered. If that was his punishment, he was getting off light.

Sora laughed at him. “I’ll help, kay? I was there too and all.” 

“Yeah, yeah.” Riku made a face at Sora who made one back. The ended up grinning at each other and without thinking, Riku bent to peck his lips against Sora’s in a brief kiss. They hadn’t even realized they’d done it until they heard Suki gasp and Kaleo stare up at them in surprise.

Right, guess they were out now? 

“Damn it.” Hana said with feeling. The older teens looked at her, half expecting a bad reaction. Should they have gone about their relationship more delicately? Her arms were crossed but she was smiling, knowingly. “I owe Cloud a hundred munny.”

**Author's Note:**

> Series Order 
> 
> Gifts  
> A Home that Heals  
> First Adventure  
> Tourney  
> Broken Chain  
>  **Secrets Kept**  
>  Design Time. (set during chapter 5 of Secrets Kept)   
> Impart your Wisdom  
> Reunion  
> Look to the Rain (Flashback scenes set about 8 years prior)  
> Breakthrough  
> Misfits


End file.
